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Bits and Pieces
Compiled by Azaad Iqbal
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Keep
challenging yourself to do better.
 Executives who don't challenge
themselves are coasting. When success starts coming easy, try something
harder. Did you ever feel there ought to be a point in your life when
you really have it made? A point at which your contributions have been
so outstanding that you ought to be able to relax and enjoy a free ride
the rest of the way? May be there should be, but there isn't. The minute
a manager or a supervisor starts to relax, he or she begins to lose
value. Someone else, with more drive and ambition, could do a better
job.
Let's face it - what you accomplished yesterday is history. More
important now is what you can do for the business today and tomorrow.
When the things you did yesterday and last year become more important
than your ambitions for tomorrow and next year, it's time for someone
else to take over. This may seem like a hard, unfeeling way to look at
things - but isn't it the truth? You can't win today's game on last
week's press clippings. No success is final - no success can last
forever. Managers who enjoy success have to plan to keep on succeeding.
As each goal is achieved, they must look for a new one and keep on
scrambling. That's what keeps life interesting.
When you feel you've got it made, watch out! It's the first step towards
settling back into a pleasant, convenient rut. The person who has it
made is only one step from being a has-been. One of the tragedies of
business is the number of employees, at all levels, who have "mentally"
retired. They're resting on their laurels, just along for the ride. They
aren't looking for new challenges, not interested in doing things
cheaper or better, no longer much concerned about the competition or the
customer.
Like anyone who coasts, there's only one place for them to go -
downhill. Keep alive - keep challenging yourself and your people every
day of your career.
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 All art,
like all love, is rooted in heartache.
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Gossipers
talk about others; bores talk about themselves; brilliant
conversationalists talk about you.
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Give every
man thy ear, but few thy voice - William Shakespeare.
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After years
of trying, a father finally succeeded in getting his daughter to
comprehend the love he felt for her. She had just given birth and the
baby became her centre. "Now," the woman's father said: "you'll
understand how much I love you."
Often children come first. Savings, friendships and leisure time -
everything revolves around your child. Why do we happily sacrifice our
pleasures, our money, sometimes even our lives? Why have children? There
are the usual explanations: we procreate to perpetuate the species, out
of duty, for moral beliefs, to reassure ourselves, out of passion. But
the focus is the child itself. We make babies because we need them; we
need them because they need us. The bond that makes us children to our
parents and parents to our children is indestructible. We have children
to honour our parents - a debt that can never be paid, only transferred.
"You are not only my son," Maimonides, a 12th-century philosopher once
told his child. "You are also my father's grandson."
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Writing
letters to customers or prospects is not only necessary at times, but
can help make the sale. You don't have to be a prize-winning author to
write clear, effective letters, either. Here are a few pointers:
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Start your
letter with an attention grabber - one or two short sentences that will
make your customer want to read on: "You may be eligible for a quantity
discount, Mrs. Brown."
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State your
purpose as briefly as possible: " You'll get the discount if you meet
these conditions..."
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Stir their
desires for the product: "Our system will cut your production costs by
10 percent annually..."
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Ask for
action: "Please call today, so we may arrange to meet."
Keep your paragraphs short; they're easier to read. Use a conversational
tone, staying away from phrases like: "Pending our deliberation of the
subject in question..." Keep it friendly! Be specific. Say: "Field
studies show our product costs 10 to 20 percent less than our
competitors' models," instead of: "Our products cost less." And have
someone proof-read it for you. If someone else writes the letter, make
sure you read it before it goes out. A letter sent out with errors
reflects on the person who signs it.
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Jay Van
Holt, a salesman of photographic equipment, once had a customer ask him:
"Do I need this piece of equipment?" Jay replied: "Only you can tell
whether or not you need this piece of equipment, sir. But I do think it
will be useful, considering the kind of equipment you already have." The
prospect said: "Some other salesman tried to tell me I absolutely needed
this same product last week. I like your answer better. Only I know what
I need. Please write up the order, I need that equipment!"
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Anyone can
do any amount of work provided it isn't the work he is supposed to do at
that moment.
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Every town
and city in the world has its own examples of courage, kindness and
decency. Here are two:
He Delivered
Bernie King, 35, was a part-time driver making a delivery for Domino's
Pizza in Medford, Mass., USA, when he noticed smoke rising above some
rooftops. Driving closer, he saw a three-storey building on fire. Evelyn
Cushing, was standing on the front porch screaming hysterically that her
72-year-old mother, Lydia Covino, was trapped upstairs. The whole th ird
floor was engulfed in smoke. King started up the stairs but didn't see
anybody, so he returned to the porch. The woman continued to scream for
her, so King went into the burning building a second time. "When I got
to the top of the third landing, her mother appeared out of nowhere,"
King said later. "She couldn't really walk that well, and she had a
handkerchief covering her mouth to block out the smoke." King threw the
woman over his shoulders and carried her downstairs. King quickly
explained to the first fire-fighters on the scene what had happened,
then went on to deliver the pizzas - which got to their destination on
time!
The Amazing Alvarezes
In 1967, Anastacio, Jr., was the first of the Alvarez children to
graduate from the 200-pupil school in Loraine, Texas. Daniel came next
in 1968 and was the first of the family's two valedictorians. There has
been an Alvarez graduating nearly every year since. "All of them were
excellent students," said math teacher Mike Chunn. "It's not just
because they're a large family that they stand out. It's the way they
are." Adds retired teacher Joy Dickenson: "Once their daddy told me that
any trouble they got into at school, they'd get it again at home. Their
parents knew those kids would behave." At a time when many parents
struggle to get just one or two children safely into adulthood, the
people of Loraine proudly hold up the Alvarez family as the American
dream come true.
Lydia Alvarez was a migrant worker and Anastacio a cotton farmer, both
with little former schooling, when they married in 1947. Education, they
decided, was the most important gift they could give their children. The
kids helped by getting jobs, student loans, financial aid an grants. All
the Alvarez children went to college after high-school. At last count,
there are nine bachelor's degrees, one master's and more degrees coming.
And there are 22 grandchildren, four of whom have graduated from
high-school. On commencement night last May, 14 siblings and their
families who were able to attend took a large section of the school gym
to watch as Fabian, the youngest of the Alvarez children, got his
diploma. Fabian, the class president, surprised his parents with a vase
of 18 roses during the ceremony. "Each rose is different, just like your
children," he told them as family members dabbed their eyes with
tissues. The tears flowed even more freely when Principal Ken Kendall
presented
 Lydia and Anastacio with honorary Loraine High School degrees
surprising the entire family. This time, the Alvarez children stood and
proudly applauded as their parents received their diplomas.
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Confidence
is entering a sales contest and wondering who's going to come second.
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You cannot
dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself into
one.
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We cherish
our friends not for their ability to amuse us, but for our ability to
amuse them.
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Walking
into a noisy classroom, the instructor slapped a hand on the desk and
ordered sharply: ''I demand pandemonium!'' The class quietened down
immediately. "It isn't what you demand," explained the instructor, "but
the way you demand it."
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